Shuttle for weft replenishing looms



June 5, 1951 R. F. DION ETAL 2,555,845

SHUTTLE FOR WEFT REPLENISHING LOOMS Filed Jan. 10, 1950 INVENTORS MOND F. N N T. KEN Y ATTORNEY Patented June 5, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SHUTTLE FOR WEFT REPLENISHING LOOMS Application January 10, 1950, Serial No. 137,851

6 Claims.

This invention relates to a self-threading shuttle for use in weft replenishing looms and it is the general object of the invention to provide improved pad tension means for the weft thread as the latter passes through the shuttle block.

It has been common practice heretofore to provide self-threading shuttles with small metallic pads acting under the force of springs to exert a tension on the weft thread as the latter passes from the bobbin through the shuttle block to the delivery eye of the shuttle. Many of these pads are so constructed that their edges are exposed with resultant occasional entanglement with the weft. It is an important object of the present invention to construct the threader block of the shuttle and the pad tension in such manner that those parts of the pads which might otherwise entangle the weft are guarded to provide a clear path for the weft through the threader block.

It has also been customary to utilize small coil springs exerting their forces at the central parts of the pads. As a result of this arrangement the restraining force exerted by the pads on the weft varies depending on the vertical position of the weft with respect to the pads. It is a further object of the present invention to provide each pad with a bowed leaf spring which engages both the top and bottom of the pad and thereby causes the latter to exert a more uniform tension on the weft regardless of the vertical position of the weft relative to the pads.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide the shuttle block with pockets on either side of the thread passage and mount the thread tensioning pads in these pockets in such manner that wings on the pads enter the pockets and prevent the weft from engaging exposed edges of the pads. The aforesaid bowed leaf springs are preferably confined between the wings and are held in proper position by them.

It is another object of the invention to construct the threader block so that each of the pad tensions can be removed from the block independently of the other pad tension in the event that repair becomes necessary.

With these and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the in vention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein a convenient embodiment of the invention is set forth,

Fig. l is a plan view of part of a self-threading shuttle having the invention applied thereto,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical section on line 2--2, Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on line 3---3, Fig. 2, and

Fig. 4 is an exploded perspective view of one of the pad tensions and parts associated therewith.

Referring more particularly to Fig. '1, the shuttle S is provided with a weft or bobbin compartment H) in which the weft carrier H is located. At the right end of the compartment iii the shuttle is provided with a threader block l2 having a vertical longitudinally extending thread passage 13 over a part of which extends a hook l4 and a horn 15. The shuttle has a delivery eye 16 from which the weft W issues after passing through the threader block. The block 52 is provided with front and back vertically extending walls IT and I8, respectively, located at the sides of the thread passage l3. The body of the shuttle may be provided with a shallow recess l9 leading from the thread passage toward the shuttle tip 20 Except as noted hereinafter the matter thus far described is of usual construction, the weft thread from the weft package I I passing through the block and then out through the eye l6 as the shuttle is picked back and forth across the loom.

In carrying the present invention into effect two similar tension pads are provided, one for each of the walls ll and [8. The front wall I? is provided with a pocket 25 the upper end of which is closed by an overhanging part 26 of the front wall of the block. The lower end of the pocket opens through the bottom of the block. This pocket has vertical walls 21 and 28 preferably perpendicular to the thread passage !3 and parallel to each other. Wall H has threaded therein an adjusting screw 29 provided at its inner end with a boss 30.

The front tension pad 3| has a vertical weft engaging body 32 which preferably has a flat surface 33 rearwardly or toward the wall 18. This pad is provided at its upper end with a guard 34 projecting under the overhanging part and has side wings 35 and 36 which fit into the pocket 25. These wings are preferably parallel and extend vertically along but are spaced slightly from the side walls 2'! and 28 of the pocket to permit free movement of the pad. The lower end of the body 32 is provided with a perforation 3] through which extends a supporting pin 38 the front and back ends of which are anchored in and secured to the walls l1 and 18, respectively.

A bowed leaf spring 46 is located between the wings and 36 and has a perforation M to receive the boss 30 of screw 29. By adjusting the screw the rearward force exerted by the spring on its associated tension pad can be regulated.

The rear wall I8 is provided with a pocket 45 similar to pocket 25 and closed at its upper end by an overhanging part 4.6 of the rear wall l8. A second tension pad 41 similar to the pad 3| is located in the rear pocket 45 and the force exerted by its spring is adjustable by reason of screw 48 threaded in the rear wall 18 of the shuttle block. i V

In operation, the screws 29 and 48 will be adjusted so that their associated springs 40 will force the tension pads 3| and 61 toward each other with the desired tension. .As the weft passes from the compartment it through the thread passage l3 it will move downwardly between the pad tensions, passing between the overhanging parts 26 and 46 of the walls I! and I8, respectively, and being directed by the guards 34 to the position suggested at W in Fig. 2. The wings 35 and 36 guide the pads in their pockets for slight transverse motion relatively to the shuttle block and also confine the springs 46, as will be apparent from Figs. 2 and 3, to keep them out of engagement with the weft thread.

If it should be necessary to replace one of the pad tensions the block [2 will be removed from the shuttle, after which the supporting pin 38 can be removed and the screw, either 29 or 48, backed off to release the associated spring 48 to permit the defective pad to be moved downwardly out of its pocket 25 or 45. Each pad tension can be removed independently of the other and when repaired can be restored to the position indicated in Fig. 2 relatively to the threader block, the pin 38 being replaced and the associated tension screw returned to its normal positions.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the invention sets forth a simple form of pad tension for self-threading shuttles wherein the springs for the pads are bowed and confined by the wings 35 and 38 in such manner as to be out of the path of the weft thread. The springs exert substantially equal forces on the upper and lower parts of the pads. Furthermore, the wings 35 and 36 extend into the pockets 25 and to hold the tension pads in substantially vertical position,

but permit them to move transversely of the shuttle block. Also, each of the walls I! and I8 is provided with a pocket which opens at the bottom thereof through the block, thereby permitting removal of each pad tension independently of the other. It will be noted more particularly in Fig. 2 that the top of each spring M] 'is' slightly below the tops of the wings 35 and 36 and that the bottom of the spring terminates slightly above the bottoms of the wings. By this construction the springs are so mounted that there is no possibility for the weft thread to become entangled with them.

Having thus described the invention it will be seen that changes and modifications of the foregoing specific disclosure may be made without departing from the'spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed as new is:

1. In a self threading shuttle, a threader block having a vertical thread passage extending longitudinally therethrough, the block having formed therein a vertical pocket at each side of the passage, a weft tension pad for each pocket, each pad being formed with a vertical weft engaging body, vertical wings on each side of each body extending into the associated pocket, a vertically extending bowed leaf spring for each pad located between the wings of the latter and having the upper and lower ends thereof engaging the body of the pad, means on the block holding each spring intermediate the ends thereof against bodily movement vertically and longitudinally of the block, and means on the block supporting the lower ends of said pads.

2. In a self threading shuttle, a threader block having a vertical thread passage extending longitudinally therethrough, the block having formed therein a vertical pocket at each side of the pas sage and having a part thereof overhanging each pocket, a weft tension pad for each pocket, each pad being formed with a vertical weft engaging body, said bodies being in the passage, vertical wings on each side of each body extending into the associated pocket below the corresponding overhanging part of the block, a vertically extending bowed'leaf spring for each pad located between the wings of the latter and having the upper and lower ends thereof engaging the body of the pad, means on the block holding each spring intermediate the ends thereof against bodily movement vertically and longitudinally of the block, and means on the block supporting the lower ends of said pads.

3. In a self threading shuttle, a threader block having a vertical thread passage extending longitudinally therethrough, the block having formed therein a vertical pocket at each side of the passage, a weft tension pad for each pocket, each pad being formed with a vertical weft engaging body, vertical wings on each side of each body extending into the associated pocket, a vertically extending bowed leaf spring for each pad located between the wings of the latter and having the upper and lower ends thereof engaging the body of the pad at points intermediate the'tops and bottoms of the wings, means carried by the block holding each spring against bodily movement vertically and longitudinally of the block, and means on the, block supporting the lower ends of the pads.

4. In a self threading shuttle, a threader block having a vertical thread passage extending longitudinally therethrough, the block having formed therein a vertical pocket at each side of the passage, a weft tension pad for each pocket formed with a vertical weft engaging body, wings on each side of each body extending into the associated pocket, a vertically extending bowed leaf spring for each pad located between the wings of the latter and having the upper and lower ends thereof engaging the body of the pad, a guard extending from each pad into the pocket over the corresponding bowed spring, means on the block supporting each spring intermediate the ends thereof, and means on the block supporting the lower ends of said pads.

5. In a self threading shuttle, a threader block having a vertical thread passage extending longitudinally therethrough, the block having formed therein a vertical pocket at each side of the passage, the block having at each side of the passage a part thereof overhanging the corresponding pocket, a weft tension pad for each pocket formed with a vertical weft engaging body, wings on each side of each body extending into the associated pocket below the corresponding overhanging part of the block, a vertically extending bowed leaf spring for each pad locatedbetween the wings of the latter and having the upper and lower ends thereof engaging the body of the pad, a guard on each pad extending from the corresponding body over the associated spring into the pocket for the pad and under the corresponding overhanging part of the block, means on the block positioning that part of each spring intermediate the ends thereof with respect to the block, and means on the block supporting the lower ends of said pads.

6. In a threader block for a self threading shuttle, the threader block having a vertical thread passage extending longitudinally therethrough and having formed therein a vertical pocket at each side of the passage communicating with the latter, each pocket opening downwardly through the bottom of the block and the later having a part overhanging the upper end of each pocket, a tension pad in each pocket comprising a weft engaging body from the sides 20 of which spaced wings extend into the pocket under the corresponding overhanging part of the block, a bowed spring for each pad located between the spaced wings of the latter and having the ends thereof engaging the associated body, 25

removable means positioning each spring with respect to the block, and a support pin in the lower part of the block extending across said pockets and affording support for the lower ends of the pads, each pad upon removal of the corresponding removable means and. pin being removable from the block independently of the other pad by a downward motion through the bottom of the associated pocket.

RAYMOND F. DION.

JOHN T. KENNEDY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,987,820 Gavriluk Jan. 15, 1935 2,119,611 Tebo June 7, 1938 2,132,461 Davis Oct. 11, 1938 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 293,442 Italy Feb. 22, 1932 

